Inspiration Series: Rainbowholic (Kaila Ocampo)

by - 4/11/2015


"Blog your dreams" is a motto not only shared by the author, but also done by the author I will be featuring for the second part of the Inspiration Series! With just the picture, I'm pretty sure you all know who we will be introducing today, it's none other than Rainbowholic or Ms. (master) Kaila Ocampo! A lot of girls (like me) and even boys are inspired by the one and only Kawaii Leader of the Philippines. I'm sure most of you would understand where I'm coming from as to why and how I feel this way about Kaila, not only is she inspiring, she's also very interactive, as much as possible, she would like to become responsive to all the people who come to her for advice, for questions, or even just to thank her for being so positive and bright. I'm sure she gets a ton of mail everyday, where you won't be able to respond to every single one of them asap, but she tries, how do I know this? cause that's how I became what I am today, that's how I got here, in this blog, because she responded. 

Kaila is a very important person in the Kawaii community, she was able to bring out this group with so much positivity. I speak for everyone who feels the same way, but I really find this community healthy and helpful, you won't feel any tension in the group, everyone is very friendly and you won't feel that there is a competition, everyone is supportive and very helpful especially if you experienced some bashing because of kawaii not being "normal", but Kaila made all this possible. Which is why she is one of the most respected girls in the country and even in others. 


Her blog is just wonderful and very refreshing to look at, with beautiful and artistic photos combined with inspirational entries that help girls like me become more confident with what we love, I would say Kaila is a true leader. 

When I was with Kaila during her Rainbowholic event, she told me something that I would never forget, and that is "A good leader doesn't want followers, a good leaders want to create more leaders".  I was seriously touched by this, even knowing that she was respected by the whole kawaii community, she doesn't let it get to her head and act as though she is the leader, instead, she wants everyone to be like a good leader. 

Reading her blog is like a breath of fresh air for me, seeing all the pictures, reading her entries, and whenever I look at her blog, I don't get jealous ( of course I get jealous because hey, I'm human lol..I think, by that I mean I get jealous when I see amazing pictures and I think to myself, I wish I was there, I wish I could see it too and all that shiz) what I feel when I look at her pictures is, Inspiration, I feel inspired and think to myself I'll work hard as well! 

So because of all these amazingness, Kaila is a must to be part of the inspiration series! let's spread the kawaii joy! and without further ado! *claps claps claps* 

RAINBOWHOLIC


1.) Tell me something about yourself
Hi! I'm Kaila, I'm a Kawaii Lifestyle + Motivational Blogger from Japan.

More info here: http://ourkawaii.tokyo/kaila/ / http://the.rainbowholic.me/kaila



2.) How long have you been a blogger? what made you start blogging?
I've been into blogging almost a decade ago (14 yrs. old). I started blogging mainly because I wanted to improve my English. I wanted to become a full-time webdesigner / graphic designer before too and my blog/s was/were my platform for experimenting.

3.) What were your dreams when you were young? are they still the same as your dreams now?
I used to dream about becoming a teacher, graphic designer or a webdesigner. Everything that I'm doing right now is a little bit of everything I dreamed before I guess. I'm not an actual teacher but I do mentorship. I'm not a full-time graphic designer / webdesigner but I'm not a complete n00b about photoshop / coding. I'm still happy that I dreamt of becoming such because I realized that I can be a combination of everything too even if I'm not an expert in one aspect. #KailaProblems :))
I could say that my dreams at present are slightly different from before, hehe. I dream of successfully setting up my own company that can help others through livelihood programs and employment opportunities. I dream of building my own kawaii cafe (www.rainbowholic-cafe.com - in Manila? Kyoto? Harajuku?) where everyone can just have a great & inspiring time together while sipping their matcha latte and sakura cookies. It's still a big dream for me but I'm training and preparing myself when the right time comes

4.) Did you ever feel like you hit rock bottom? how did you handle it?
Yes, I have been in depression for months before. At first, I just cried it all out and felt all the sadness to get to know myself more (and learn to love myself more). I did not want to stay in such situation so I did all my best to be positive, regain confidence, and find more meaning in life.

I handle hard situations in life in a way that I treat these as valuable experiences (+ or -) or strong building blocks. I used to take things too personally which was why I felt the world was disappointing me, or vice versa. In the end, I learned that life is about perspectives and seeing the brighter side of things does make a whole lot of difference. I can choose to cry over spilled milk or I can choose to find a way to fix the mess.

I don't openly talk about this but "kawaii" (the non-superficial side) brought me out of my darkest days. Surrounding myself with smiley character goods, retaining the "gambatteru" spirit ("I'm doing my best"), being in company with super-positive and genuine people.. all of these made me who I am today.

“Life is 10% what happens to you and 90% how you react to it.” - Charles R. Swindoll


5.) Who/What are your inspirations?
My inspirations are my friends who equally have big and crazy dreams as I do. Kawaii Philippines community / family inspire me to become a better team leader. I learn a lot from working with these people from different walks of life.

6.) How did Kawaii change you?
Kawaii changed me in the most positive way. 
2-3 years ago, I never saw myself that I would be appointed as a "Kawaii Leader" and people from the streets of Harajuku would vote for me in an episode. It was that crazy and unbelievable for me. I would always ask God "Why me?" too. Maybe that time, I was already losing hope and I was on the verge / so tempted to follow the "standards" of the society ("Don't stand out, follow the crowd, don't be different").
I was just used to trying things out, failing and getting back on track, trying once again... and then one day, out of all the possible / prospective "kawaii leaders" who are undeniably more "kawaii" or probably has more model-like features than me.. the universe chose me. I wanted to show to others that whatever your background is / your skin color / your race .. you can create your own "luck" and you can live the life of your dreams.

Kawaii gave me the confidence to pool people, gather my friends, and form a vision together. At the same time, Kawaii made me see the "real world" of glitz and glamour and the un-kawaii side of this industry (people making money out of talents and promising fame as rewards without fair compensation). 

After realizing this, I became more driven to spread such culture to be less about "let's (only) feel pretty when we wear make-up" when it can be "i can be kawaii with or without external additions!". Kawaii is not exclusive and only for those who can afford frills and laces. Kawaii is for everyone who has the confidence / struggling (but fighting!) to find confidence to wear whatever she wants, whether it's handmade or not.

I hope that kawaii can change others live the same way it did to mine. 


7.) Any tips for fellow/starting bloggers who aim to live the kawaii lifestyle? :)
Be yourself and love every bit of you even if people think of you as "childish" (when in fact, you're just child-like) because you love kawaii culture / still collect Hello Kitty at age 27. Their opinion about your love about kawaii does not matter. Hehe ^^

When you are starting, please do not compare your life with others (or pegging your entire future) or else you will end up killing your own happiness and losing track of your growth. Enjoy the journey and treat blogging as a therapeutic activity. I use blogging as my personal documentation of my growth as a person. There is more to blog than to blog about the sponsored products and company freebies only. For me, blogging is not about putting up a complete different front, being acquainted with the "in" crowd, showing a pinterest-perfect life online. A "successful" blog does not mean that you have 2,000 unique hits everyday from curious people (curious =/= who actually care) and being in competition with others based on follower count.

Blog your dreams and shock yourself later (....when you blog again about your dreams unlocked.) ^^

8.) Inspirational words:

There are times when you feel like you've failed yourself, your family, your friends... everyone around you. Remember that it is just a "feeling" and it does not mean it's the complete truth.

Do not be too harsh on yourself and be gentle. There are so many things to be thankful about. The fact that you wake up each morning means that you can turn around your life towards the direction of your dreams with every choice you make. Choose happiness. When you love life, life will definitely love you back.






 I hope everyone became inspired when it comes to chasing their dreams!
All of the photos featured here were taken by and from Rainbowholic!
Thank you for taking the time to read this, and thank you Kaila for giving me the opportunity to feature you! (thanks master!) 
See you next time!

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2 comments

  1. @Mica waah, naiyak ako dito, youre right, ate kaila is an inspiration.. Ang ganda na pagkakasulat mo sa article na to..good job!!

    ReplyDelete